Scout Patch Collectors

2 Interesting Boy Scout Bugles each sell for over $250 on ebay

I got this message from one of my contributors Bruce McCrea and I wanted to share it with everyone on the patchblanket community.

Two Boy Scout bugles have each sold for over $250 on eBay in the last two weeks. They have both added to my knowledge of the history of Boy Scout bugles.

1. Chrome plated Lyon and Healy unofficial “Boy Scout” bugle in great condition – $256.23

(I was the winning bidder on this one.) I have never seen a chrome plated version of this bugle before. Both the chrome-plated version and the brass version are very rare. Scroll down to see the great engraving of the words BOY SCOUT, an early Boy Scout holding a bugle, LYON & HEALY, and CHICAGO USA that are a feature of this bugle.

2. Conn Official Boy Scout bugle with box – $355

The bugle in this auction is very interesting. Before the auction ended, I asked the seller:
“In addition to the BSA engraving on the side of the bugle shown in your photos, the #1277 Conn should have have an inscription on the top of the bell at right angles to the bugle:

Conn

Made by

C G Conn Ltd

Elkhart, IND

USA

Can you confirm that this inscription is on the bugle in the auction?”

The seller’s reply, which was not posted on the auction site, was: “The bugle does not have the inscription that you are asking about.”

This is very interesting. I have always thought the bugle with the BSA inscription along the side but no CONN inscription on the top was probably made by Conn but was catalog #1415. Now it appears that those bugles without the Conn inscription could have been sold as Conn #1277.

Comments

I got a follow up email from Bruce about another interesting item he won on eBay. I’ll share his information and his call to action if you have any knowledge on this piece.

Another recent auction purchase of mine that I found interesting was [B][B]
Old Victorian Trade Card Boy Scout & Oyster Cracker Trenton New Jersey NJ[/B][/B]

This is a Boy Scout trade card THE SCOUT’S DINNER which used one of the designs that appeared first in the UK and then in the US. On the back of the card is an ad for Trenton Cracker Co, Trenton NJ, producer of the Stapler Cracker. What surprised me when the card arrived was the size of the card. It is 3″ by 5″, about the size of a postcard. I hadn’t noticed the size of the card in the auction description and just assumed that it was the normal trade card size. This is the first example I have seen of an advertizing card using one of these designs in the larger size. Have you seen any?

By jason on December 28th, 2011 at 6:01 pm

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